At the ASEAN meetings, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated an indirect but obvious warning to China that Washington was committed to the rule of law in the South China Sea. He then announced a security aid package to Southeast Asia prioritizing maritime security.

By reframing the issue, the perceived threat to the DPRK’s ideological and psychological security may be reduced. A common discursive ground may then be found to engage the DPRK without a breakdown in dialogue on denuclearization, peace and the normalization of relations.

The war of words and tit-for-tat provocative actions of China and the US regarding the South China Sea could spiral out of control. Thus, it is a good time for analysts and decision makers to step back and distinguish between hope (the possible) and reality (the probable).

The killing of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Mullah Fazlullah in a US drone strike in Afghanistan is a major blow to the terror group. Fazlullah’s killing will further undermine TTP’s organizational coherence, possibly paving way for more defections.

The Xiangshan Forum and the Shangri-La Dialogue are two of the most important security dialogues regionally and globally. The Xiangshan Forum was inaugurated in 2006 and it became a Track 1.5 event in 2015. The Shangri-La Dialogue has been going strong as well.

To facilitate peace on the Korean Peninsula, North and South Korea and the US are not the only critical actors. Russia, Japan and China are also strategically significant, but it is China which will be the most crucial for the US in the next phase of facilitating real peace.

Beyond the Sentosa agreement, what could potentially be significant about Kim Jong-un’s visit to Singapore is how it could mirror Deng Xiaoping’s pivotal 1978 Singapore visit. Could Kim Jong-un be inspired to implement a similar economic reform program for North Korea?

On May 23, 2018, the US Department of Defense announced it had withdrawn an invitation for China to participate in the RIMPAC 2018 multinational naval exercise. Does it represent a major setback in Sino-US military relations?